Dragons
Thick, powerful bodies Long tails Forked tongues |homeland = Natalia |diet = Carnivorous |enemies = Rabbits |name = Dragons |appears = The Wreck and Rise of Whitson Mariner |mentioned = The Green Ember Ember Falls Ember Rising}} ragons are a species of predatory reptile known to have inhabited Natalia in the time of King Whitson Mariner. History ''The Wreck and Rise of Whitson Mariner Some time after the Battle of Ayman Lake, Lord Grimble and Captain Grimble encountered the dragons on an island to the west of Ayman Lake they inhabited. Prior to this meeting, the dragons had enslaved a local population of rabbits, whom they used as a food source. The two villainous parties struck an alliance, with the Grimbles promising the dragons a new group of slaves in the form of King Whitson and the crew and passengers of ''Vanguard. During the wreck of Vanguard, the dragons came silently and secretly aboard ship and captured Queen Lillie in the service of Lord Grimble, taking her away deep into the forest. Massie and Lander were tracking them down when they came upon Galt, who had lived on the island in exile for months. Galt knew of the dragons, and directed them to where the dragons were surely holding Lillie captive. He told them all he had come to know of the dragons since he came to live on the island, which the dragons had inhabited long before his coming. They would occasionally congregate during the night at a sacred pool of theirs, where they would chant dark, ominous songs, in an evil ritual. In the middle of the pool, upon a raft, they would tie up a rabbit, and after their dark chant was done, they would hurl themselves viciously upon the poor creature as a part of their ritual. Queen Lillie also makes a close-up encounter with a dragon while she was captive in a hut deep in the forest on the island. She had awoken from an unconscious stupor, and was attempting to free herself from the bonds with which her hands were tied, when a dragon entered the hut, stopping her from freeing herself. Later, Lander, Galt and Massie make it to the hut where the dragon and three of Grimble's bucks stood guard over Lillie. Lander manages to get on the raft in the middle of the pool, covering himself with a cloak and feigning unconsciousness. The only dragon present, the one Lillie had encountered earlier, waded into the pool, thinking to kill Lander; but when he got close enough, Lander suddenly lashed out with his sword which he had hid, killing the dragon immediately by driving his weapon deep into the monster's soft underbelly, killing him instantly. It wasn't long before a score of more dragons arrived, whereupon, seeing their dead comrade in their sacred pool, they immediately found and chased Lillie, Galt, Lander, and Massie. The dragons were on all fours, and the space between the rabbits and dragons thinned speedily. Lander bravely led many of the dragons into a cave, to distract them from pursuing his mother, Galt and Massie. Lillie, Galt, and Massie fled towards the river. When they finally reached the riverside cliffs, a group of dragons were hard on their heels. Meanwhile, King Whitson Mariner and his crew along with Steadfast were there, on their way to attack Grimble and his Desolation. Lillie, Massie, and Galt managed to jump desperately from the cliffside onto Steadfast's mainmast, thus saving themselves from the dragons. Whitson ordered his archers to fire upon the dragons, but the arrows all failed to slay them except when they struck their soft, scaleless bellies. Not moments after, Lander appeared, being pursued by even more dragons on his tail and running toward the five dragons at the cliff's edge. Steadfast's mainmast suddenly struck the cliff's edge, and instead of breaking, it tore the loose rocks of the cliff's edge, and the dragons on the edge fell to their deaths on Steadfast or in the raging river below. Later, Whitson is approached by Mother Saramack, who tells him that one of Grimble's bucks brought a message from the dragons. The message stated that the dragons intend to report to their king of the trouble, and that they will return to finish off the rest of the rabbits. ''The Green Ember The Tomb of Lander's Dragons is mentioned in passing by Emma. Ember Falls The Tomb of Lander's Dragons is mentioned by Captain Frye, as he speaks to Picket on the latter's plan to lead the Fowlers on a rescue mission to liberate his family. Later, Heather has a nightmare in which she falls into a dark hole, amidst countless large, dark eggs. A cruel, scaly hand reaches toward her out of the darkness just as the dream ends. Ember Rising'' Heather dreams a dream similar to one she had experienced before, as she sleeps restlessly in the Akolan prison, within the Sixth District: wherein she falls into a dark place among many large dragon eggs. An evil voice tells her that they will awaken, and a scaly hand reaches out to her from the darkness. Physical characteristics Dragons are four-legged carnivorous creatures, with five razor-sharp claws at the end of each leg. They are lithe, scaly, and muscular, capable of standing upright. Their scales provide impenetrable protection from arrows, but their vulnerability lies in their soft underbellies, which lack this protection. Sociocultural characteristics Though somewhat primitive, dragons are known to be of consistently vicious demeanors. Usually found in groups, or tribes, they are fiercely loyal to their own kind, and will stop at nothing to take revenge on anyone who defies them. They often partake in dark rites, which consist of chanting, singing, and carrying torches. Category:Species